Paul Sewald and Alek Thomas could both return from the injured list on Tuesday, when the Diamondbacks start a six-game road trip by facing the Reds. Sewald has yet to pitch this season due to a Grade 2 oblique strain suffered near the end of Spring Training, while Thomas got four games under his belt before being sidelined by a hamstring strain.
Sewald seems to be the closer of the two to being activated, as he already joined the D’Backs in the clubhouse today prior to their departure for Cincinnati. The closer started a Triple-A rehab assignment with two-thirds of an inning on April 23, but then his rehab was slowed down after he felt sore following a bullpen session. A subsequent bullpen session went much more smoothly, and after tossing an inning in an extended Spring Training game Saturday, Sewald appears to be ready to get his 2024 season underway.
The return can’t come soon enough for an Arizona bullpen that has been shaky at best. The Diamondbacks can only hope that Sewald can stabilize things as well as he did last summer after being acquired from the Mariners at the trade deadline, as Sewald solidified Arizona’s ninth-inning situation and played a huge role in the club’s pennant-winning postseason drive. This success brought a bit of spotlight to a reliever who had largely flown under the radar in posting a 2.95 ERA over 189 1/3 innings with the M’s and D’Backs since the start of the 2021 season.
Thomas is much more familiar with the hype train due to his time as a top-100 prospect, but the outfielder is still looking to break out in his third Major League season. On the plus side, Thomas has been an excellent defensive center fielder and he brings a lot of speed to the table, but his career .230/.273/.362 slash line (over 827 plate appearances) leaves a lot to be desired.
Once he makes his return, the Diamondbacks should be able to finally adopt their preferred outfield alignment of Corbin Carroll in right field, Thomas in center, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left field, and Randal Grichuk and Jake McCarthy providing depth (with Grichuk likely spelling Thomas against left-handed pitching). This alignment might have the carry-on effect of helping Carroll get on track at the plate, as the reigning NL Rookie of the Year’s struggles could be linked to the fact that he took over regular center field duty with Thomas sidelined.
Speaking of injury returns, the D’Backs got some reinforcement back today when Ryne Nelson was activated from the 15-day IL. Nelson hadn’t pitched since he was struck in the elbow by a line drive on April 18, and while he looked a little rusty in allowing four earned runs in five innings today, it was still enough to earn a win in Arizona’s 11-4 rout of the Padres.
Nelson provides some help to a rotation that is still without Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez due to their placements on the 60-day IL. Kelly is gone until at least late June, but manager Torey Lovullo provided some news about Rodriguez today, telling Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports and other reporters that the southpaw will undergo some more tests on his injured lat muscle. If E-Rod is feeling good and the tests come back clean, Lovullo said Rodriguez could soon start a throwing program.
Rodriguez started the season on the 15-day IL before being transferred to the 60-day, so late May represents the absolute best-case scenario for his first official appearance in a D’Backs uniform. Since some significant ramp-up time will be required and Rodriguez has already been shut down from throwing once due to continued discomfort in his lat, it’s probably safe to guess that his rehab process will stretch into early June.
Lovullo also had an update on Geraldo Perdomo, as the infielder is throwing and taking grounders. “Three weeks post surgery, so he’s gotta be careful with his next steps. It’s getting close to him getting to full baseball activities and I’m excited about that,” the manager told Weiner and company. Perdomo tore his right meniscus just shy of a month ago, so is on pace with the usual 4-6 week timeline associated with such injuries.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login